Stathmin levels alter PTPN14 expression and impact neuroblastoma cell migration

BACKGROUND: Stathmin mediates cell migration and invasion in vitro, and metastasis in vivo. To investigate stathmin’s role on the metastatic process, we performed integrated mRNA–miRNA expression analysis to identify pathways regulated by stathmin. METHODS: MiRNA and gene arrays followed by miRNA-target-gene integration were performed on stathmin-depleted neuroblastoma cells (Ctrl(shRNA) vs. Stmn Seq2(shRNA)). The expression of the predicted target PTPN14 was evaluated by RT-qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. Gene-silencing technology was used to assess the role of PTPN14 on proliferation, migration, invasion and signalling pathway. RESULTS: Stathmin levels modulated the expression of genes and miRNA in neuroblastoma cells, leading to a deregulation of migration and invasion pathways. Consistent with gene array data, PTPN14 mRNA and protein expression were downregulated in stathmin- depleted neuroblastoma cells and xenografts. In two independent neuroblastoma cells, suppression of PTPN14 expression led to an increase in cell migration and invasion. PTPN14 and stathmin expression did not act in a feedback regulatory loop in PTPN14- depleted cells, suggesting a complex interplay of signalling pathways. The effect of PTPN14 on YAP pathway activation was cell-type dependent. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that stathmin levels can regulate PTPN14 expression, which can modulate neuroblastoma cell migration and invasion.